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The Cincinnati Bengals can’t afford to go into the 2021 NFL draft only locked-in on offensive line prospects.
Good as Penei Sewell might be in the pros (if he’s even available at No. 5), the presence of two elite weapons in the top 10 must interest the Bengals.
And by now fans know the names — Ja’Marr Chase and Kyle Pitts.
How good are these two? Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com just released his big board and has Chase as the second-overall player in the draft. Pitts is the third.
Some of the notes about Chase:
“He creates separation off the line of scrimmage and he can also find another gear when the ball is in the air. He is a clean route runner. He won’t gear down in traffic and has very strong hands to pluck and play through contact. He attacks 50/50 balls and consistently wins. Chase is at his best after the catch.”
And on Pitts:
“The former Gator has burst off the line, sets up defenders and explodes out of the break point. He beat upper-echelon SEC cornerbacks on a weekly basis. He builds speed to separate down the seam and tracks the ball naturally down the field. Pitts has an enormous catch radius. He uses his speed to pile up yards after the catch. He showed tremendous improvement as a blocker in 2020.”
The Bengals could use either of these guys in the offense after A.J. Green gave them next to nothing while running with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd last year.
Chase, of course, has already shown he has an elite connection with Burrow while at LSU. He’s a prototype for a No. 1. Pitts is versatile and old-minded stereotypes about him “really being a wideout” don’t matter — he creates mismatches all over the field and can change an offense. If as staff can’t use him right with Boyd and Higgins, that staff needs to go.
If the Bengals are even halfway successful at addressing the offensive line in free agency, a deep class for linemen could still help the team grab a great prospect at the top of round two.
If the second or third-best player in the class falls to the Bengals at five, they probably need to pull the trigger.
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